Coach Tracker

I think they'll interview 4 coaches and make their decision. Looks like we'll have our coach by the first week of June. No idea who is the best candidate. Have to trust the Ed's on this one. Thibodeau does have an interesting resume and the support of some major superstars.

Casey has the Collins effect in reverse. His team in Minny got a lot worse after he was fired. I guess he was doing something right.

As for TT- sounds like a good choice, but I hope he would bring with him an innovative offensive mind. Someone like Elston (who also looks like a good candidate.) I want to see on offense something like the Princeton or Read and React offense. Something that does not require a pure PG and can utilize Iguodala's skillset.

After reading a lot more about Thibodeau, he has become my co-leader in the clubhouse with Turner. There are 3 things I like about Thibodeau: His Defensive pedigree and knowledge, his proven ability to help players develop on both ends(i.e Yao, Kobe), and the bonus feature is that hiring him hurts the Celtics.

Thibodeau sounds like a good candidate no doubt - but he's not a panacea that will cure all the ills on this team.

He gets a lot of credit for the defense - but how much credit should go just to getting better players - and with better players comes better respect from the refs - what players have improved defensively under Thibodeau? How were the celtics defensively before they got KG and Ray Allen...did the number of fouls called on the celtics go down after they got more super stars?

Why when he was the hot name last year did Tom T not get a job? Did he not want them? Did he interview badly? Was he picky? Was Ainge unwilling to let him interview?

THere's a lot of questions I have about Thibodeau and I always am wary of guys who don't have any head coaching experience (has he been a head coach anywhere) because head coach is just different than assistant and not everyone can handle it.

I wrote up a little bit on Tom T on my blog. But last year word is the Bulls and Knicks simply didn't want to wait until after the Finals to interview Thibodeau nor do I think he should interview during a playoff run. From my understanding these interviews are intense and you need to have done your research and prepare your plan. No way an assistant has time to do that and worry about winning the next game in the playoffs at the same time.

The better question is why didn't he get the Sacramento Kings job in 2007 when he interviewed over Reggie Theus.

Now see I didn't know about that one - but if you think about it - Thibodeau wasn't a'hot name' until after the 07/08 regular season and the celtics great run and I wonder how much 'credit' he really deserves on that versus just having a better roster and being one of the 'good' teams instead of the bad ones so the refs might be more favorable to them?

I'm not saying he's not good I just think there's an awful lot of hype for this guy.

I'm in favor of a defensive coach, but I can't say I was impressed with the Celts' defense in the playoffs this season. I thought the Sixers did a better job with worse pieces (according to the powers that be) than Boston did on the Magic. And they just got torched by the Bulls.

So how much 'credit' / 'blame' goes to Thibodeau and how much is just the changed roster having defensive players? That's what I'm saying. Without KG the celtics looked pretty 'pedestrian' defensively - but KG makes them better defensively because he's better defensively and the 'aura' allows them to get away with more on the court? Could be possible...that's why I have reservations about any 'hot name' - cause there's a lot of hype and he might be getting credit he didn't deserve...why couldn't the 'genius' thibodeau adjust against the magic? Or game plan to stop the bulls better? Did he try and the peices weren't right on the roster without KG or was it just that he couldn't?

I'd say the layman gives the Celtics a big advantage at PG, SG and C. Some people would give Pierce the nod over Iggy and Big Baby/Thad is probably a wash, especially considering how poor Thad's D was in the first round.

Well, I think of at least one player who defended much better in Boston then he ever did elsewhere: Ray Allen. Though he had stretches where he struggled(see Chicago series). The schemes limited the chances of isolating him, though. Also, Pierce stepped up his game on that end, Perkins improved boatloads on that end. Davis did as well.

The Bulls torched them because Ray Allen cannot guard Gordon, who was hitting crazy shots over doubles. Fortunately for the Celtics, the reverse proved true, which is why they won. Thibodeau's history features a myriad of teams and players who, with only few exceptions, played high-quality d for him. Good sign.

Do players make great coaches (Phil Jackson) or to great coaches make themselves?

With that said I agree I wish there was more negative press about this guy. He seems too good to be true. But that won't come until he is in the saddle. Both players and coaching peers a like rave about this guy.

I am willing to go out on a limb and say being apart of 15 different teams reaching the top 10 in defense is at least much more favorable in terms of being around winning/playing the right way for any coach compared to the alternative. So I assume it's a matter of time before TT gets a lead gig. Should it be with us or someone else is really the question.

I prefer TT over the other guys at this point because I just want to see something/someone new, different and with potential (thinking Eric Spolstra-like). Just rather see an up and comer than stale bread.

Doug Collins is overrated in my opinion and too much of a diva and control freak to mesh well with Stefanski.

Avery Johnson has what 4 years coaching experience total with a lot of regular season wins but also had the luxury of stepping in to a team that had won (on pace in 04-05 when he finished the last 18 games and playoffs) 52+ games 5 seasons before he took the job. Got to a finals, had his team with a 2-0 lead and up 13 with just over 6 minutes left and lost 4 straight. Followed that up with a great 67 win season only to lose in the first round as the team with by far the best record in the NBA. Got one more chance and lost in the first round again. How much credit and blame should we give to Johnson?

Eddie Jordan in my opinion is a matter of preference. Do you want offense or defense? He is the offensive version of Thibodeau. But what we do know is as a leading man he has never be able to get his teams to play defense well-enough to get to the next level and compliment his offensive genius although he actively preached the importance of defense in the media results never followed.

Pick a smart coach with a nice resume and some potential to exceed expectations and hope for the best. Focus on getting more talent and fixing the talent mix.

Here's my thing about eddie jordan - sure he doesn't have rings - but that shouldn't be the measure of him.

Did he get more out of the wizards roster than he reasonably should have when they were healthy? I believe he did - that's a mediocre team that would be lucky to get out of the first round of the playoffs - he was fired due to injuries and a gm trying to save face for bad off season signings (in my opinion) giving arenas that monster contract after missing one season and then he misses another? That GM should be canned.

Wasn't the the primary assistant when the nets went to the finals two years in a row? The New Jersey nets went to the finals two year in a row folks - think about that for a minute - how much of that was just roster additions kidd and carter, how much of that was scott, how much of that was jordan.

Then there's the 'larry brown' effect - same roster (mostly) with rick carlisle pistons get so far - next season they win the title - only real major change (i think) is larry brown right? So he had to have some impact didn't he?

The 'impact' of a manager has been measure deeply in MLB and it's been found that managers at most have a +/-2 wins/losses on the season (that's less than 2% of the games) - unless they're really really bad or really really good but even then their impact is minimal usually.

It's hard to measure the impact from the outside which is why i'm not excited or depressed about any of the candidates - they have their plusses and minuses really

I don't think you can say, there are various factors, including salary and promises, maybe they say 'behind closed doors' that he's the next head coach if he demonstrates ability, and the hire doesn't work out, docs established in boston for a few years at least

1. While Snider and Stefanski have said money isn't an issue for the head coach I strongly doubt they are willing to over bid enough to snag a top assistant when they still have to pay Cheeks contract for next season.

2. By all accounts he isn't a jump ship type of guy. He stuck with JVG for a long time, I am willing to believe that is the same situation in Boston. He actually accepted an assistant position with the Wizards and before he signed the deal Doc and the Celtics got a hold of him and made and offer and he retracted his commitment to Washington to go to Boston.

3. I think the locale does play a part as well. Which is actually why I think Philly is a good spot for head coaching job as well since he is still Northeast.

After reading Dannie's writeup (great read if you haven't read it yet, do read it), and researching on my own afterwards, I am happy with Thibodeau. As I said before, I would rather go with an up and coming and try to "shock the world" than a retread.

I also would rather have a coach that focuses on defense and hire a shooting coach than the opposite.

But, given that, I still would be ok w/ EJ,Turner or DougC. Not real thrilled with AJ or DwayneC.

My biggest concern is we don't hire TT and he succeeds greatly and we remain mediocre.

Never understood this thinking and was never interested in it, when you throw the fans a bone you 'reveal' your intentions publicly and thoughts publicly and in a job search you don't do that...the fans will get their 'bone' when they get to know who the new coach is - i'd run my organization the same way...

the kings are public cause kings owerns are egotistical glory seeking publicity whores

They confirmed that he would be interviewed, but not when. Honestly, I just want them to make whatever decision they think is best for the team. I don't really care if we're in the loop. It's nice to know who's up for the job, beyond that, we can do our own research on the guys who get interviewed.

That being said, I still don't have any kind of grasp on Casey. Offensive? Defensive? George Karl disciple?

1. Ed in LA to talk to Kurt Rambis
2. See Henderson and Ellington
3. He stated the Ed will not hire an unemployed head coach.
4. Believes TT is the front runner and will interview near or at the end of his search.

How long do you think the interviews last? Few hours per interview. Can interview a guy a day if he wants. I would have each recorded so I can go back and listen for clarity.

More about giving the candidate a little notice to prepare his plan and view of the Sixers specifically to pitch.

Word is they put in the requested to speak to Thibodeau last week and the news didn't come out about that until this week. Not sure how prepared Rambis could have been unless he knew this was coming a week ago.

We all can agree that the Sixers need to move on without Samuel Dalembert, right? But he has a hefty contract that makes him difficult to move, right? Well, it so happens that the Houston Rockets could use a backup center since Yao Ming is injury-prone and Dikembe Mutombo had to retire. They would love to get a center with starting experience, who would be better than the typical backup. And it also so happens that they would love to move on without Tracy McGrady. While it's true that McGrady is coming off knee surgery, he does have an expiring contract next season worth $23M. The Sixers would probably have to add a second player, such as Lou Williams or (def imo) Willie Green to get the salaries to match.

Even if McGrady doesn't play next year, the Sixers could let him walk and be well under the salary cap for 2010. No, they won't have a prayer to get LeBron James. But what about Chris Bosh or someone like that?

And if McGrady is healthy enough to play, then you have a versatile shooting guard to go along with Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young and Elton Brand. That's not bad, either.

It's a trade that would make sense for both sides, and there aren't too many of those in the NBA involving high-salaried players.

I have serious, serious doubts that Houston, a team very much into advanced stats, would take on the remainder of Lou's contract. I also doubt they'd give up that expiring contract for another year of Sammy.

lol and your one of the guys that thought that it would be dumb to get rid of Sammy for just a 2nd round pick if possible ala Camby! How dumb does that sound now Dean? Sounds more like a pipe dream for us. Why would the Rockets take those losers off of our hands and be saddled with their contracts for 2 years when they could just play out the season with T-Mac and then let him walk saving themselves a cool 23 million?

I get the sense that Ed wants to hold onto as much control as possible. He wants a coach who is a "communicator." The implication is how he interacts with players...but I think Ed equally wants a coach who talks and listens to his GM. Ed want to control the direction, the basic strategy, the personnel.

Maybe I am over-reading into this? But I think a lot of established, big ego coaches would not want to work under ed's shadow.

Dick Jerardi / Phil Jasner over at philly.com mentioned a number of other possible candidates, but I was intrigued by Popovich's top lieutenant. "The Sixers are not through with the interview process. A source close to the situation told the Daily News' Phil Jasner that the Sixers plan to contact fomer Dallas coach Avery Johnson and possibly current TNT analyst Doug Collins.

The source said there had initially been internal discussions about contacting San Antonio assistant Mike Budenholzer, who was a finalist for the Phoenix job that went to Terry Porter. It remains unclear whether the team will follow through. There is no apparent frontrunner at this point."